PARIS (AP) — Two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas went out in the second round of the French Open on Wednesday, losing 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to unseeded Matteo Gigante for his earliest exit at Roland-Garros since 2018.
The big-serving Greek reached the French Open final in 2021, losing in five sets to Novak Djokovic after winning the first two sets. He got into the quarterfinals here last year and the year before, and also made the semifinals at Roland-Garros in 2020, where he lost to Djokovic.
“I expected bigger things from myself these two weeks,” said Tsitsipas, who also lost in the second round in 2018. “I seemed to be playing immature sometimes during the match.”
The 26-year-old Greek berated himself for gifting Gigante some points. The 20th-seeded Tsitsipas hit 49 unforced errors on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
“I wasn’t fully present in the moment,” he said. “So I would describe that (as) immaturity, not knowing how to handle those situations.”
Tsitsipas was troubled throughout by the No. 167-ranked Gigante's drop shot and athleticism.
Gigante sealed the victory with an ace, and the unheralded Italian received a friendly hug at the net from Tsitsipas.
“I have to give credit to my opponent, he played incredible tennis," Tsitsipas said. “He handled the pressure moments very well.”
Gigante has not won a title on the ATP tour and he had never previously been beyond the first round at a major tournament.
“For sure was my big(gest) win,” he said.
It was a second straight major with an early loss against an unseeded player for Tsitsipas — the 2023 Australian Open runner-up — following his first-round defeat to Alex Michelsen at the Australian Open earlier this year.
“I just need to use my experience a little bit more wisely,” Tsitsipas said.
Italy's Matteo Gigante, left, is congratulated by Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas after winning his second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Italy's Matteo Gigante, left, is congratulated by Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas after winning his second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas looks down as he plays Italy's Matteo Gigante during their second round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked.
New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to flu-like illness and in the number of states reporting high flu activity.
However, some measures show this season is already surpassing the flu epidemic of last winter, one of the harshest in recent history. And experts believe there is more suffering ahead.
“This is going to be a long, hard flu season,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, in a statement Friday.
One type of flu virus, called A H3N2, historically has caused the most hospitalizations and deaths in older people. So far this season, that is the type most frequently reported. Even more concerning, more than 91% of the H3N2 infections analyzed were a new version — known as the subclade K variant — that differs from the strain in this year’s flu shots.
The last flu season saw the highest overall flu hospitalization rate since the H1N1 flu pandemic 15 years ago. And child flu deaths reached 289, the worst recorded for any U.S. flu season this century — including that H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic of 2009-2010.
So far this season, there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. It also estimates there have been 7,400 deaths, including the deaths of at least 17 children.
Last week, 44 states reported high flu activity, down slightly from the week before. However, flu deaths and hospitalizations rose.
Determining exactly how flu season is going can be particularly tricky around the holidays. Schools are closed, and many people are traveling. Some people may be less likely to see a doctor, deciding to just suffer at home. Others may be more likely to go.
Also, some seasons see a surge in cases, then a decline, and then a second surge.
For years, federal health officials joined doctors' groups in recommending that everyone 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine. The shots may not prevent all symptoms but can prevent many infections from becoming severe, experts say.
But federal health officials on Monday announced they will no longer recommend flu vaccinations for U.S. children, saying it is a decision parents and patients should make in consultation with their doctors.
“I can’t begin to express how concerned we are about the future health of the children in this country, who already have been unnecessarily dying from the flu — a vaccine preventable disease,” said Michele Slafkosky, executive director of an advocacy organization called Families Fighting Flu.
“Now, with added confusion for parents and health care providers about childhood vaccines, I fear that flu seasons to come could be even more deadly for our youngest and most vulnerable," she said in a statement.
Flu is just one of a group of viruses that tend to strike more often in the winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, also have been rising in recent weeks — though were not diagnosed nearly as often as flu infections, according to other federal data.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Pharmacy manager Aylen Amestoy administers a patient with a seasonal flu vaccine at a CVS Pharmacy in Miami, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
